


Adventureventure

by JennaTalbot



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Gen, Rita & Juno Steel Friendship, Rita Redacted is my favorite, Rita is a Good Friend (Penumbra Podcast), This got soft and I'm not sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26922895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JennaTalbot/pseuds/JennaTalbot
Summary: Juno is having a tough time lately. Rita knows just how to make him smile.
Relationships: Rita & Juno Steel
Comments: 3
Kudos: 26





	Adventureventure

“Mista Steel, Mista Steel, Mista Steel!” 

My four-foot-something, loudmouth secretary burst into my office and before I even had time to blink, slammed something down on my desk.

“Oh Mista Steel, I was watching my show, you know the one with the fast cars and that pretty hostess, not the blonde, the brunette, and anyway an ad came up right? And of course I think ‘Rita, all these programs are just tryin’ to sell you something, it ain’t that great’, so then I got distracted by some kids playing ball outside the window, and the kid with the hat, he was real good! But anyway when I was lookin’ back from the kids to my screen, this caught my eye and I had to run out and grab it I just had to, cause I know what will make you feel better!”

The last month had been pretty lousy. I hadn’t been getting much in the way of cases, crashed a car, lost too many bets, and Nureyev....well, Nureyev was Nureyev. Lingering in the edge of my mind the way his cologne has lingered in my apartment.

With a sigh, I looked down at the nondescript flyer Rita had smacked onto my desk, hard enough to put a crack in the fake wood.

“Rita, what the hell is ‘Adventureventure’?” Whatever it was, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like it, but I had to ask anyway. 

“Ohhhh boss you're gonna love this!”

I could practically see Rita bouncing up and down. Each time she moved, my apprehension rose steadily. 

“Rita…” I said, a low warning in my tone. 

“So I know that the last time we went to an amusement park it...well it didn’t go all that well, ‘cause we went there to investigate those people that got roasted alive which was awful, and then we met Miss Yasmin who was real pretty, and a little scary, but still real pretty and then she tried to kill us ‘cause she needed money for her kid, which is real honorable and all but I’m still not sure I can forgive her for that entirely, and then you pushed her off that Andromeda ride and —”

“Rita,” I repeat again, sharper this time. 

“Sorry, Mista Steel,” Rita said in a small voice. Then, she took a deep breath and drew herself up to her full height, which wasn’t much—she still barely came up to my shoulders. 

“Look Mista Steel, things have been real tough for you lately. And I know you’ve been sad and kinda lonely and just down in the dumps, I know, I can see it. And I really think this would be fun! We can ride some really fast rides, and I’ll pack snacks—” 

I cut her off there. I’ve seen the abominations that Rita calls snacks; they make my stomach nauseous on the best of days, let alone after I’ve been on a rollercoaster. I close my eyes and sigh. There was no use telling Rita no; I would never hear the end of it if I tried. She still wielded the fact that I wouldn’t let her buy rainbow overhead lighting for the office eight years ago against me in arguments. 

“When are we going?”

“Oh thank you thank you thank you Mista Steel, you’re not gonna regret this, we’re gonna have a  _ great _ time, you and me!” Rita squealed, nearly bursting my eardrums in the process.

Despite my suspected case of tinnitus, I couldn’t help the small smile that crossed my face. I was pretty convinced that I wasn’t going to have a great time at whatever the hell this amusement park was, but it was nice to see Rita this happy. Even though she claims they don’t, I know my darker moods affect her too. She’s not afraid to tell me when I’m being too self-pitying, but she rarely complains.

If nothing else, I owed Rita this.

xxx

Rita wanted to go that same day, but I managed to convince her it would be best to wait and plan out a day instead, so we could get an early start and maximize our time there. Not that I wanted to maximize our time there, but I needed at least a day to mentally prepare for another amusement park. Even though I hadn’t liked hearing it, Rita was right—things had been pretty crappy lately, and amusement parks were supposed to be fun.

I think someone forgot to tell Yasmin Swift that, and now no one would ever get the chance to. 

“Rita, maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” I said as my thoughts took a dark turn.

“Oh don’t you worry Mista Steel, we’re gonna have a fantastic time! Just leave it to Rita, you’ll see!” She floored the accelerator and I sat back in my seat, adding letting her drive to my list of regrets. Maybe one of these days I would slow down on adding things, but it didn’t look like today was that day.

I suppose my first sign that something was up was when Rita put one of Hyperion City’s news channels on the radio, instead of her normal robo-funk that made my head pound. I got caught up listening to the newest scandal involving Pilot Pereyra. I still had no idea who let them become mayor, or how they managed to hold the office for this long, and I scowled in disgust. I waited for Rita to interject, but for once, she was silent.

I didn’t read too much into it. Some kind of private eye I was.

I lost track of time while Rita drove, her fingers drumming a frantic pattern on the steering wheel. Her squeal of delight, when it came, startled me and I jumped.

“Mista Steel, we’re here!” She put a heavy emphasis on here, drawing out the word and changing octaves at least three times. 

I looked out the window. “Where, exactly, is here? I thought we were going to an amusement park.” We were in a parking lot, but it was empty besides us, not what I would expect for a place designed to draw people in.

Rita grinned so wide I thought she was going to split her face in two. “I know I told you that we were goin’ to an amusement park, Mista Steel, but I tricked you! Rita beat the world’s best private eye!”

“Rita, I’m not—” I started, but she steamrolled over me.

“Anyways I know you weren’t real thrilled about an amusement park which is totally understandable! I get it! The last time we was there, everything got real bad real fast, but you have been spending too much time inside your office and it can’t be good for you to just sit in there all day, and I don’t know what you do because you don’t watch any streams like I do and you don’t know how to use the computer you do have, so maybe you just stare at the wall all day?”

I clear my throat.

“Okay, okay, okay, the point Rita, the point! The point is that I didn’t want to plan a day for you that you were gonna hate, but I did want to plan a day for you.”

My heart clenched a little as she said that. “Rita, that’s—”

“It took me a while to decide what you would want to do for fun but—” 

I rolled my eyes. “Rita, hush. You’re ruining it.”

She looked at me, and I could have sworn her eyes looked a little misty. “You deserve it, Mista Steel. You never take time for yourself but...you deserve it.” She got out of the car and I followed.

“Rita, this is just a field.” 

Wherever she had taken me really was just a field. There was a patch of trees casting shade onto the lawn in the early morning, and a couple of benches, currently in the sun, but that would be shaded come afternoon. It reminded me of the park Benten and I would always try to convince Mom to take us to. She never did, but that never stopped us from trying. 

There was no theme park here, no crowds, no rides. I’m not too proud to admit that I was horribly confused. 

“A park, actually, where we can just sit and do nothin’ all day and not feel guilty about it. I thought about what you needed, Mista Steel, what you  _ really _ needed, and came up with three things: some sun, some fresh air, and a break from feelin' bad cause you can’t live up to your responsibilities. Hyperion City will stay afloat without you for one day.”

I shook my head, ignoring how close the last bit hit to home. “Rita, you’re going to be miserable; you hate doing nothing.”

Rita smiled. “I ain’t gonna be miserable, Mista Steel, I get to spend the day with you. Also, I brought my earbuds so I can catch the last few episodes of the paper spaceship construction marathon without disruptin’ you. And I brought snacks!” She pulled out a duffle bag that looked like the zipper was about to pop off.

“How long are we going to be here?”

Rita shrugged. “As long as you need Mista Steel, we don’t got nothin’ all day. I was figuring at least six hours.” She looked back at her bag. “Hmm… maybe I should have packed more snacks.”

I laughed, and then I really looked at my secretary, who had been with me through so much. And really, the things I put her through… I’m surprised she lasted more than a week. But here she was, still by my side, going out of her way just to try and make me smile. 

So I smiled. “Thank you, Rita. This is perfect.”

**Author's Note:**

> I've recently become mildly obsessed with TPP and also I'm Rita Readcted's #1 fan. If you liked, please leave kudos/comments! They are all appreciated and cherished.


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